Photo Gallery Update

First are some new shots of Thomas, Nadia and our first spring BBQ last weekend at the dacha. Note the snow coming down. Ya gotta love the Urals weather. We were out of the woods so to speak…the ice chippers had streets and walkway cleared and bam! Last weekend a new multi-day storm hits where one day we get about a meter of the white stuff. So we are now going through round two of slush, muck, dirty car, dirty pants, dirty shoes…just dirty.

Second is a gallery called What’s Wrong with This Picture? Note the sidewalk – it all mud and has been this way as long as I’ve been coming to Yekaterinburg way back in 1995. Infrastructure dilapidation – especially roads and sidewalks is pretty prevalent in all cities except Moscow and St. Pete. When are they going to get it right here? Next are a couple of photos of an open hole in the ground with exposed pipe. Crews are preparing to repair or replace steam pipes once the system is shut down. These photos illustrate the constant nagging problem of how neglectful Russia is of basic safety. Immediately adjacent to this open hole in the ground is a children’s playground. No barriers have been erected to protect the innocent. Safety is still a far away concern for most Russians. They have no thought about safety when it comes to making proper detours safely away from gaping holes or dangerous objects. Only major construction jobs using foreign companies who have safety ingrained in their mentality have such awareness.

Finally the link of the week about the Karl Rove – Slow Joe Biden kerfuffle. They don’t call Biden "Slow Joe" for nothing. He is a serial liar and just as easily can look you in the eyes and tell a whopper of a lie. I think this is one of those times. We can only hope he doesn’t get elevated to the Presidency. He’s a boob of Homeric proportions.